Event summary of the Strategic HR Network's latest  evening panel discussion on 1st February 2012.
 
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The panel:

 

Robert Barnard, CEO, DECODE

Ros Altmann, Director-General, Saga

Peter MacDonald, Director of Talent & Resourcing, Royal Mail Group

Sarah Churchman, UK Director of Diversity, PricewaterhouseCoopers

Caroline Waters OBE, Director of People & Policy, BT

 
The panel was chaired by Beverly White, Managing Director, HR Consulting, Penna
 
 

The panel considered:


With 4 generations in the workplace HR Directors are increasingly asking "what's the best strategy for managing a multi-generational workforce"? Opinion is divided: should HR differentiate by generation?
The case for: by addressing and accommodating generational differences a positive, inclusive work culture is created that leads to business success by enhancing recruitment, retention, performance and profitability.

The case against: workforces have always been “multi-generational”: it’s as much about the stage of life you are at as the generation you are from - an effective and engaging organizational culture crosses the generation gap(s).
 
 

The key themes that emerged were:

 

 

The challenges around 'Defining Generations'

  • Age is one of the most individual aspects of you as a person – how we age.
  • Most people don’t know how to define the generations, and a lot  wouldn’t know which generation they are part of - Gen x y z, millennials, boomers etc – its neither a clear or a satisfactory way of segmenting
  • Research demonstrated that Gen X and Gen Y are 75% the same
  • Managing older workers effectively, focusing on what they CAN do rather than what they can’t
  • We are in the midst of a social revolution in the labour market with more people working for longer after the end of a full time career - people can remain in work for longer and make an active contribution to the economy for longer

·        

It's not just about generation - it's about lifestyle/life stage...

  • Your formative years set up your norms – e.g. family dynamics, social economic status
    e.g. a 27 year old may be a parent, a bachelor (or even a divorcee!), a student or an MBA 
  • Formative experiences change depending on where you grew up (Making international strategy challenging)
  • There are universal attitudes, there are generational attitudes e.g. young singles and couples more likely to be dissatisfied with leadership and decision making in an org
  • Life stage shapes what people want from work

 

...and different individual motivators

  • Different life stage affect motivations and desires
  • A 22 year old with a toddler has more in common with a 40 y.o with a toddler than a 22 y.o without
  • People want to be worry free
  • People want to feel valued, expert, have autonomy
     

How do you create a common strategy?

  • How much time do we have to be distracted by individual policies?
  • A good strategy will be inclusive and speak to everyone with flexibility depending on circumstances
  • Inclusive design is important...HR fashion is not!
  • The importance of dialogue and discussion – having 1 to 1’s with managers
  • Don’t use stereotypes as a defining strategy – but you can generalise
    Focus on the commonalities: e.g. in what keeps people happy and productive (engaged)
    • Personalisation ‘don’t want to be lumped in’
    • Freedom
    • Choice
    • To be informed
  • If we all had managers who individualise we wouldn’t need to ‘stereotype’
 

Specific interventions

  • Consider practical ways to make it personal / Individualise
  • Consider ways in which to build understanding between generations
  • Keep it simple - remember that there is a Finance Director somewhere who will have to sign this off!
  • Consider making adjustments for older workers (Siemens have production lines for older workers)

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